This story is part of the series CriticsCorner

Weekend TV: 'Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight'

USA TODAY's Robert Bianco previews October 4th's TV lineup from the Critic's Corner, with a legal drama called 'Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight' and a new episode of 'Homeland' plus a new Lifetime series 'Witches of East End.'
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Robert Bianco, USA TODAY
12:03 a.m. EDT October 4, 2013

What's worth watching, and what might not be, in prime time this weekend.

Don't be misled by the title: the "fight" at issue here is the behind-the-scenes Supreme Court battle over Ali's efforts to claim conscientious-objector status to avoid the draft. Ali is actually only seen in the film in newsreels; instead, it focuses on the justices, led by Christopher Plummer's Justice Harlan and Frank Langella's Chief Justice Burger. All in all, it's a worthy subject to be sure. It just probably isn't the subject you might have expected.

This rebounding series builds on its strong premiere with an excellent second outing that features Nazanin Boniadi as a new analyst and cements Rupert Friend's Peter as the show's current loose-cannon hero of choice. But the real emotional punch in the episode comes from Mandy Patinkin's Saul – both in his scenes with Boniadi's Fara and in his dealings with Carrie (the always remarkable Claire Danes).

Witches of East End | Lifetime, Sunday, 10 ET/PT

Remember ABC's Eastwick or CW's equally unsuccessful attempt to launch a witch/supernatural drama, The Secret Circle? Lifetime is hoping you don't, as it's replowing much the same ground in this new drama starring Julia Ormond as a witch whose children are unaware of their magical birthright, until her estranged sister (Madchen Amick) spills the secret. And all because there's an ancient enemy on the way who won't be happy until the East End witches as dead as, well, Eastwick and Secret Circle.